Waiting is the hardest part for Canton South’s Trent McIlvain

Friday

Stoked about resuming a baseball career that dates to playing for Marlington and Ohio State in the late 1990s, McIlvain’s return to piloting Canton South hit a brick wall just as it was warming up.

CANTON TWP. Going back to his All-Ohio days at Marlington and his time playing in Ohio State’s Nick Swisher era, Trent McIlvain made a million friends in baseball.

His buddy network helped him stay in touch with the game as the years drifted by since he was head coach of a Canton South team that rattled off three consecutive district championships from 2012 to 2014.

"I really never wanted to leave," McIlvain says. "There were some family changes going on in my life, and I made the choice on the side of family."

At about this time last year, he found himself at an NCAA Division II tournament game at Kent State. It was of interest because his friend and fellow former Ohio State player, Joe Wilkins, was head coach of a Tiffin team that dug out of a 2-17 season start to make an unforgettable comeback.

He was watching Wilkins' Dragons eliminate No. 1 seed Ashland when he more or less heard a voice coming out of the corn: Get back in the game.

"I knew while I was watching Joe's team ... it was time," McIlvain said.

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McIlvain had stayed on at Canton South as an educator, with the title of Wildcat Digital Academy coordinator. The head baseball coaching job came open. He went back in.

He had been away for four years and was more than ready for his next chapter as a participant as opposed to a spectator.

"I was fired up to put the red and gray back on," he said.

He conducted several practices before the coronavirus splintered the 2020 season like a broken wood bat.

The season would just now be heating up. The schedule called for South to open league play last week with two games against McIlvain's alma mater, Marlington. But the high school on the banks of Nimishillen Creek is shut down until May 1 at the earliest. Rebooting a regular season scheduled to end May 9 against GlenOak seems to be a stretch.

"Initially, seeing that there was only that very dim flickering light was pretty depressing," said McIlvain, 41. "It was almost the thought of there's no way out and no way back.

"I was having so much fun with the guys, and I really love the coaching staff. I felt really good about this team. Not that we were going to go out and win 20 games, but we had some depth and some guys who wanted to play some ball.

"You have some light-hearted guys working hard and then you kind of run into a brick wall.

As a player, McIlvain made First Team All-Ohio at Marlington as a 1997 senior and won playing time early in his four-year career at Ohio State. In 1999, he hit .294 in 56 games for a team that went 50-14.

He played shortstop for Buckeye teams that won 80 games across the 2000 and 2001 seasons, working with first baseman Swisher, who went on to an MLB career that included a stop with the Indians.

Meanwhile, McIlvain is like numerous area baseball people in that he wishes there were Indians games to watch.

"Not having the Tribe is hurting me," he said. "I liked what I saw coming in. It amazes me the depth of pitching the Tribe has hoarded."

He tells the Canton South players to focus on their own games as well as they can. Hit off a tee. Swat wiffleballs. Improvise fielding drills. Stay in shape. Be creative.

He says he intends to be back coaching the Wildcats, whenever there is baseball again.

"Right now, in the big picture, it's family first," McIlvain said. "Take care of people around you, especially the elderly.

"A lot of times we take for granted who we have in our lives."

Reach Steve at 330-580-8347 or steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP

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